The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
October 26, 2026
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7 items · ~2 min read
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (5) · Retirement Plans (1) · General Benefits (1)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
5 items“Revenue Procedure 2026-34 updates the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), generally effective as of October 22, 2026. The updated guidance incorporates changes under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, including those that were designed to expand self-correction, make the safe harbor for correcting automatic deferral failures permanent, and provide greater flexibility in addressing overpayments (see our LawFlash describing the SECURE 2.0 changes and BeneBits post with additional guidance).” MORE >>
Source: Morgan Lewis (ML BeneBits)
“The US Treasury Department issued a pair of notices intended to ease the process for retirement plan sponsors and individual retirement account owners to correct errors. The IRS on Thursday updated the correction program for employee retirement plans and created a new program for IRAs. Plan sponsors and IRA account owners and custodians may use the programs to correct mistakes with plan documents and operations, participant loans, or mistakes in distributions.” MORE >>
Source: news.bloomberglaw.com
“The temporary regulations took effect September 30, 2026, apply to all taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and are set to expire on September 30, 2026. Accounts are IRAs, with certain restrictions, for individuals who have been issued a Social Security Number and will not reach 18 before the end of the year when the election to open it is made. Each Account is either an “initial Account” or a “rollover Account.” The temporary regulations define “initial Accounts” to mean: (1) Accounts opened prior to October 1, 2026, pursuant to an election; (2) an auto Account organized by the Secretary; or (3) a “claimed initial Account” organized to accept a qualified rollover contributio” MORE >>
Source: Boutwell Fay
Source: Senate Finance Committee
[Retirement Plans]
Developing Treasury, IRS Update Retirement Plan Correction Program, Create IRA Version“The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service on Thursday issued two revenue procedures updating the correction program for employer-sponsored retirement plans and creating a new correction program for individual retirement accounts.” MORE >>
Source: planadviser.com
Retirement Plans
1 item“On October 14, PBGC announced inflation-adjusted 2027 premium rates and the variable-rate premium cap. With the exception of the variable rate premium, all premium amounts — including the per-participant variable-rate premium cap — are indexed annually for wage inflation. PBGC amount 2027 2026 2025 Flat-rate premium — single-employer plans $116 $111 $106 Flat-rate premium — multiemployer plans 42 40 39 Variable-rate premium per $1,000 of unfunded vested benefits* 52 52 52 Per-participant variable-rate premium cap 783 751 717 Annual maximum guaranteed benefit (payable as a single-life annuity starting at age 65) 97,363 93,477 89,181” MORE >>
Source: Mercer
General Benefits
1 item“Social Security's largest-ever database cleanup corrects millions of records, updating death and citizenship information to improve accuracy and prevent fraud The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced Oct.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist